Keeping your car pristine and neat isn’t vanity. It’s a great way to preserve value. Keeping your vehicle in good shape keeps its resale value high. Moreover, you’ll be motivated to keep using it since the top reason why most people swap cars is because their daily driver looks too old. An excellent way to keep your car looking snazzy is having a complete auto care shop maintain its paint. A shiny coat of paint radiates newness. However, since a new coat of paint now and then isn’t financially feasible, car owners have to make do with an alternative: car detailing and paint correction.
Why Should You Care About Paint Detailing?
Car paint doesn’t last forever. The sun and other weather elements wear it down, turning its once shiny sheen into a dull, unattractive shell. This is called oxidization. If oxidization doesn’t ruin your paint job, rock chips, micro scratches, dents, and peeling paint will damage it. The good news is you can fix most of these problems before they turn for the worse. Here are some issues bodywork detailing can handle.
Any Loose Dirt and Debris
Any car detailing job begins with a thorough wash. This is different from the fast wash you get at an automated car wash or when you clean your car at home. The procedure uses a set of brushes, microfiber cloths, and the right soap to dislodge and get rid of any random particles on your car. The detailer is thorough enough and handles tight spots like:
- Spaces between panel joints
- Car grills
- Around door handles
- The spaces between any badges on the car
Removing Visible and Invisible Surface Contaminants
The second step in car detailing involves cleaning off surface contaminants. These include pollutants gathered on the highway, bug splatters, paint overspray, and so much more. While some contaminants are visible, some are invisible but will still keep your car paint from shining through. The contaminants are already bonded to your car’s paint job, making them harder to remove.
You’ll be surprised how better-looking your car will be once these contaminants are out of the way.
Paint Repair and Correction
Minor scratches and chips will still show through by this step. However, this is nothing some bit of rubbing compound and a buffing tool can’t handle. Buffing can also take care of some dull spots in the paint. These are common if one section of your car is constantly exposed to the sun, making it fade faster. Even though a car will look amazing after basic paint repair, some significant blemishes car detailers can’t fix. You’ll have to call in an auto repair painter to take care of those.
Polishing to Make the Car Glossy Again
Finally, a good car detailing job will restore the paint’s sheen and shine. The final buffing and polishing process uses polishing compounds and polishing machines to smooth up the surface and restore its gloss.
Buffing and Polishing Will Always be a Calculated Risk
Even though buffing and polishing can fix most paint problems, it puts considerable strain on the paint’s top cover: the clear coat. A part of this clear coat is lost every time you buff and polish. The scratches and blemishes disappear because they’re embedded in this clear coat. Delaying buffing and polishing as much as possible could extend your paint’s lifespan.
Deciding when to buff and when to wait is an art. If it’s a daily driver, you could skip perfection and keep your clear coat for longer. There is no point in spending extra money buffing off hairline scratches that aren’t visible from a foot or so away. Nobody will scrutinize your car that closely. If it’s a show car, you can buff to perfection. After all, you will repaint the car sooner than any other car owner.
What Blemishes Can’t Bodypaint Detailing Fix?
While car detailers will do magic to minor blemishes on a car, some things are beyond their skills and capabilities. Some of the things they can’t handle include:
- Fixing major scratches that go beyond the clear coat
- Correcting discolored patches of paint
- Fixing peeling paint
- Fixing dents in your car
- Fixing rusty spots on your car’s body
- Fixing dings and dimples on the bodywork
Car detailing is a great way to restore your car to an almost pristine look. While effective, you must understand how much a detailer can fix and what should be left for a paint and body shop. Regardless, taking your car in for detailing is always better. You can extend your advantage by having it sealed and waxed afterward.
